Wes White


Wes White, Guest Writer

Picture this: A slightly overweight high school kid, circa 96′, with one wicked Butt-Cut, pimples, who always wore hockey jerseys (with an occasional flannel shirt), and was completely bored. Sounds like you; you say? Well, my friend we are two Green Day fans way past our prime!

A lot has changed about this Green Day fan since then. I realized that girls aren’t as scary as I thought they once were, and I don’t have to get breathing strips so I won’t wheeze in front of them. I actually married one. I migrated south from Indiana to Florida (dumb move…stupid hurricanes). I also realized that “the man” isn’t trying to stop me from enjoying life; he’s just after my money. I also realized that Billy Corrigan has a whiny voice, and he is not the best song writer ever.

So there is this question I keep asking myself; why in the world do I have anything to say on what music is good? I can’t say that I have the answer for that, but I can tell you why I love music and what paths I have led me to this point.

I started playing piano around 4th grade and quickly stopped so that I could play trumpet. I played trumpet in band and baritone sax for jazz band through middle-school and then marched my freshman year (I quit so I could play ice hockey). I quickly realized I was missing something; I was still listening to music, but had ceased making it. It was around this time that my sister’s friend, Rick Richardson, suggested that I pick up the bass guitar. He lent me his 4 string bass and an amp and I plunked away. Rick is a brilliant musician and has played with Stonescrye, Ashworth, and many others. He likes Kings-X, but I’ll forgive him for that. He was patient with me and pointed me in the right direction. Les Claypool!

I played music with some good friends in HS, formed a ridiculous band and then moved. They continued to be ridiculous, and I eventually went off to college. While I was in college I picked up the acoustic guitar and was lucky to play with some great musicians, but I was luckiest to study jazz theory under Bob Bryant. Bob is an accomplished musician who teaches as an Adjunct faculty at Asbury College, Berea College, and University of Kentucky and also runs a successful commercial audio business. He has played on over 300 recordings and played live with many A-list stars, such as the Dolly Parton band.

Since college I hooked up with a band called New Love Over, and finally stepped into the world of truly creating music worth hearing, instead of just hearing it and mimicking it. Sadly they relocated to Nashville, TN for Matt to finish his BA in Music at MTS. Currently I’m writing solo material for the first time under the moniker The Senate Floor. I have hundreds upon hundreds of albums on my shelf and have a bias or two towards certain music styles, but I promise to never be too much of a snob…